There are huge quantities of sexual health information
online, but we know that information alone is not enough to precipitate
behaviour change. Technology such as the Internet allows interventions to
be targeted, tailored, interactive and entertaining, and these kinds
of interventions can help people to learn about sexual health and to
change their sexual behaviour.

In this presentation I will give examples of the
imaginative possibilities for online health promotion, and will talk about the
design and development of the Sexunzipped website. Sexunzipped aims
to give young people the tools to make informed decisions about their
sexual well-being, featuring material about safer sex, relationships and
sexual pleasure. The site’s interactive activities are designed to encourage
self-reflection, and to develop young people’s confidence and
communication skills.

The Sexunzipped website is being tested in a pilot online
randomised controlled trial: we are recruiting 2000 people aged 16
to 20 online and randomising them to either the Sexunzipped website, or to
a comparison information-only website. This trial is the first UK
trial to collect sexual health data online and to measure genital
Chlamydia by post as well: I will talk about the trial design, and give an
overview of the advantages and challenges of conducting trials online.